


try-lingual kind of love

by mikararinna



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Exchange Students AU, Fluff, Jungwoo is a chaotic gay Confirmed, Luwoo, M/M, more like luwu, woocas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 10:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14054730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikararinna/pseuds/mikararinna
Summary: Jungwoo is dense, he knows that. But he tries his best in anything he does. Even if it requires broken English and vague hand signs.





	try-lingual kind of love

**Author's Note:**

> much thanks to luwoo for making me dig up my old chinese-to-english dictionary for this 
> 
> also, will I ever title my fics better?

Jungwoo was late. Jungwoo was never late, but today the odds were against him and now, sprinting through the school gate after oversleeping was a very, very late Kim Jungwoo. He had History as his first class of the day and while others would kill to skip that class Jungwoo wouldn't trade it away. Believe it or not, Kim Jungwoo was a nerd and he really loved History class.

 

But that was the least of his concern right now because he was late. And if he doesn't make it to his locker in the east wing quick enough and dashed to the other side of the school building where his History class was in under 5 minutes then he would actually be late.

 

He arrived at his locker, grabbed his things and - thankfully - have another 4 whole minutes for him to sprint his way to History class. Jungwoo was busy running (honestly he can join the track team) while hastily arranging the stack of things he held in his arms that he didn't notice where he was going. Or where he was running into as his body crashed against some guy's firm chest. Jungwoo whimpered, looking at the mess of books and stationery on the ground. He furiously apologized as he gathered his things.

 

Today really wasn't his lucky day, he thought to himself as he raised his head to- oh.

Oh. Maybe today wasn't such a bad day.

 

Jungwoo stared, unblinking at the person he bumped into. This person that was carved beautifully and quite literally the exact definition of perfect. The apology he had carefully thought in his brain died down at the tip of his tongue and there was only sirens going on his head. A loud _wee woo wee woo_ as the love police had arrived and Jungwoo may or may not be catching feelings. Love at first crash might be real.

 

The male tilted his head to the side and _oh my gosh he was adorable_ , Jungwoo squealed from the inside. He wanted to stare longer, he really do. Screw those thoughts about him being weird but alas, fate said otherwise and the bell rung. Which reminded Jungwoo that he was, without a doubt, late.

 

Jungwoo scrambled up, snatching his things and taking his Snoopy the Dog notebook from super cute super handsome stranger's hands. "I'm sorry, I gotta go, thank you!" Jungwoo mumbled in a string of words as he ran down the hallways. "Sorry again!" Jungwoo shouted, waving to the stranger, not catching the confused smile he had.

 

 

\--

 

 

Jungwoo had made it to his History class - barely - and survived through the rest of his classes without the wish to die before lunch break rolled in. He plopped down at the usual table he sat at with his group of friends, sighing tiredly.

 

"Hey Woo, you were late today," Jaehyun said as he slide into the seat opposite of Jungwoo with his tray of foods, Johnny joining him.

 

"Yeah dude, it was a good thing Mr Lee let you off because he actually liked you." Doyoung said, sitting beside Jungwoo.

 

Jaehyun, Doyoung and Johnny were Jungwoo's quite possibly closest friends. They sometimes share the same classes and more often the same interests. Their little group of quartet was what made Jungwoo's boring highschool life even more exciting.

 

"I overslept," Jungwoo said, picking on the tray of foods in front of him. The cafeteria foods sucks anyway. "Then I had to run to my locker which was at the end of the east wing building because I left my notes then I had to run back to class. I almost made it to class on time but then,"

 

Jungwoo paused. He suddenly remembered the handsome stranger he bumped into this morning. With how chaotic his morning had started, Jungwoo completely had forgotten about the male from this morning. "But then what?" Doyoung asked.

 

"Hey hyung," Jungwoo called out, looking at Johnnny. Johnny hummed, arching an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

 

"You know a lot of people in this school right?"

 

"Uh, I guess so?"

 

"Do you happen to know someone who's tall, handsome and kind-faced with really fluffy hair?"

 

Johnny blinked at him. "I think you're currently looking at said person right now?" he said. Jungwoo rolled his eyes at Johnny. "No, not you. Someone like,"

 

Jungwoo glanced around the school cafeteria. Hundreds of students chattering and eating with their friends. His eyes fell upon a table where someone was sitting with their friends, laughing brightly, his eyes crinkled and his gums out in the open.

 

"That!" Jungwoo shouted, slamming a hand on the table. The cafeteria turned silent, all eyes looking at him. Even the handsome stranger from this morning stopped laughing to look at him. Heat rose to his cheeks and Jungwoo could feel himself blushing that he quickly looked away.

 

The cafeteria quickly buzzed with life again and the loud chattering of students was heard once more. Johnny coughed that made Jungwoo raised his head again to look at the elder. "You mean Lucas?" Johnny asked.

 

"Oh so that's his name? Do you know him?" Jungwoo inquired.

 

"Yeah but I don't know him well enough. He's one of the students of the exchange programme from China right?" Johnny said.

 

"What exchange programme?" Jungwoo wondered out loud, having not heard of this news.

 

"What? You don't remember?" Jaehyun asked him.

 

Jungwoo looked at him, confusion written all over his face. "Remember what?"

 

Doyoung sighed. "Jungwoo, our school is having exchange students from China at the moment. We were informed of this since last month during assembly. They introduced the Chinese exchange students last Thursday." Doyoung explained.

 

Jungwoo's eyebrows furrowed. He racked his brain but couldn't recall anything about an exchange students programme. "That's weird, I don't remember anything. Maybe I didn't attend the assembly?"

 

"You did Woo, you were sitting beside me." Jaehyun said.

 

"Then why can't I recall anything?"

 

"That might be because you were asleep all through assembly."

 

"Huh," Jungwoo said. "That actually sounds like me."

 

The three of them collectively sighed. Jungwoo couldn't help it that he was a bit dense sometimes. Maybe a lot of times but, that currently doesn't matter does it?

 

"Why are you interested in Lucas?" Johnny asked him.

 

"He's cute," Jungwoo replied simply.

 

"And?" Doyoung pressed on, eyebrows arched.

 

"I might have crashed into him this morning and decided I might like him?" Jungwoo said in a hurry. But his three friends caught on to what he said and they collectively groaned. Jungwoo was impressed at how in sync his friends were.

 

"Jungwoo you met him today. You didn't even know he existed until this morning." Doyoung reasoned. Jungwoo shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, love at first crash do exist okay?" he said.

 

Jaehyun shook his head. "No Woo, no such things exist."

 

Jungwoo scoffed. "Of course it does, I just experience it today!" he told them. "Listen I have a crush on Lucas and there's nothing that can convince me otherwise." he said, with so much determination.

 

Jungwoo had a number of crushes in the past. All of which almost had a chance with him but was sadly rejected by the person who pursued them. As quoted by Jungwoo himself, 'I'm sorry but I'm not interested with you anymore. I guess it was just a twist in moment, maybe some kind of puppy love'. Which left him in a whirlwind of the single life. It was fortunate none of his previous crushes ever left with a grudge, probably because Jungwoo was just an oblivious angel. He didn't mean to hurt others, sometimes he's just, _dense._

 

"But Jungwoo you don't even know him." Johnny pointed out. "Well that is why I'm making the effort to do so," Jungwoo said, standing up. "He's from China right? Maybe I can put that extra Chinese lesson to some good use."

 

Jungwoo left his table, walking over to Lucas' table with so much confidence in him. He stood near their table and they turned quiet when they saw Jungwoo. " _Ni hào,_ " Jungwoo greeted them all with a smile. Jungwoo always held pride of his smile that could rival the sun. The others seem to warm up to him, flashing a smile and a hello back.

 

Jungwoo's smile widened and he turned to Lucas. "Lucas right? I'm Jungwoo," he said in English, his accent still visible. Jungwoo held out his hand and Lucas shook it with his own. Taken aback by how firm Lucas' grip was.

 

"This morning, remember? The books? Thank you for helping me." Jungwoo said and yeah, he might have been confident before but now he's just trying his best with his broken English paired with vague hand gestures.

 

"What was the word again? Um, _xièxie!_ Yes, _xièxie_ , was it?" Jungwoo said, he turned to look at Lucas for confirmation and the latter only smiled while nodding his head.

 

Jungwoo swelled up in pride, grinning like a fool in love. He wanted to talk more but the bell rang signalling the end of lunch break. Jungwoo rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Ugh class is starting. Well, I'll see you later Lucas! _Xièxie_ again!" he told the male in a furry of broken Chinese before he ran off to his friend.

 

 

\--

 

 

Jungwoo skipped out his class in a cheerful mood. He skipped all the way to his locker, humming a tune under his breath. His friends stared at him weirdly, mildly worried that their friend might have gone cuckoo in the head. But Jungwoo was radiating with positivity, saying hi to everyone who passed by and they didn't have it in their hearts to stop him.

 

"Hey Woo, wanna go get ice cream after this?" Jaehyun asked the younger.

 

"Oh no, you guys have fun without me. I'm going back home." Jungwoo replied, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 

"What? Why?"

 

"To study the Chinese language of course!" Jungwoo said cheerfully, lips stretched out into a full smile. The three of them stared at him. "And why exactly may I ask?" Doyoung inquired.

 

"So I can get closer to Lucas, duh," Jungwoo said, like it was so obvious. How can his friends not get it? And they say he was dense.

 

Jungwoo skipped away, legs feeling light like he was floating on air. His friends stared at him but Jungwoo paid no heed as he exited the school gate. He took the next bus to town, eyes shining with determination. He was going to buy a dictionary and he was going to flirt with Lucas in Chinese or his name isn't Kim Jungwoo.

 

Jungwoo took his time in walking to the town's bookstore. It isn't a grand shop but it still full of wondrous fiction and useful resources. Jungwoo entered the little bookstore and went straight to the dictionary section. He took his time skimming through the rows of books, even going out of his way to ask the employee on any useful books he could use in order to learn Chinese better.

 

He went ahead to the counter, even grabbing a few extra highlighters on his way there. Jungwoo paid for his things, all while smiling brightly, not noticing the pairs of eyes looking at him.

 

 

\--

 

 

Jungwoo was early today and he was happy. He was always happy but today he was extra happy. Even though he didn't study any Chinese last night but he was sure he would nail it when he talk with Lucas today, all broken English and vague hand signs. The only problem right now was if he could actually find Lucas within the sea of humans occupying the hallways.

 

Jungwoo jumped at the hand patting his shoulder. He turned around and was met with a confused looking Johnny. "Oh hyung, hi!" Jungwoo chirped happily.

 

Johnny arched an eyebrow at him. "Uh, hi?" He replied. "What are you doing jumping around in the hallways? Who are you even looking for?" he asked.

 

"Lucas! I'm looking for him," Jungwoo said, still radiating with happy energy. Johnny stared at him, all scared and confused. Jungwoo was a ball of sunshine most of time - this, even the school administrators knew - but there was just so much chaotic gay energy in the way he talked and the way his eyes shone, Johnny would be a filthy liar if he said he wasn't worried for the younger male.

 

"Woo, I know you have a crush on Lucas but isn't this too much? You're like stalking him,"

 

Jungwoo pouted at the elder. "No I'm not!" he retorted. "I'm just waiting for him in the hallways like a normal person who has a crush on another person."

 

"I don't think any normal person would do that," Johnny reasoned. Jungwoo shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the elder in favour of scanning around the hallways for a certain Chinese student with fluffy hair before the school bell rang, a signal for the start of classes.

 

"Okay, yeah, time to go to class Woo." Johnny said, wrapping his arm around the younger's neck.

 

Jungwoo whined. "But I haven't seen Lucas yet!"

 

"Jungwoo you have to go to class."

 

"No!"

 

Johnny sighed. "You have Physical Education first class today right? Maybe you'll see him there." Jungwoo's eyes widen, he gasped. "Hyung you're right! I'm going to the gym right now!" he said excitedly. He removed himself from Johnny's headlock and lightly jogged away. Johnny only stared at his friend's fading silhouette, shaking his head lightly.

 

 

\--

 

 

Jungwoo hates Physical Education; one, because it was always the first class Tuesday morning which meant feeling sweaty and disgusting the whole day; two, because he didn't share the same Physical Education class as his friends which meant he was all alone. But now Jungwoo hated Physical Education. Note the past tense.

 

Seating at the bleachers, looking slightly bored was one, Lucas. Jungwoo did a happy little dance inside his head. Johnny was right, there was a chance for him to meet the Chinese male. He has to thank the elder during lunch break. Jungwoo walked over, sliding beside the male with a smile adorning his face.

 

"Hello!" Jungwoo greeted him. Lucas grinned, muttering a 'hello' back to Jungwoo. "You don't like sports?" Jungwoo asked in his heavily accent English.

 

"I actually do like sports." Lucas replied. Jungwoo noted his spectacular English, no accent and perfect diction. And his voice? Hoarse but still held a certain gentleness in his tone. In other words, simply beautiful. "You?"

 

Jungwoo zoned out for a quick second before he realized Lucas was asking him something. "Huh? Oh, um, no." Jungwoo said with a meek smile, shaking his head.

 

"That's a bummer,"

 

"Hey Lucas!" They both looked over to the source of voice. Mark was there waving his hand at Lucas. "We're playing basketball. Wanna join bro?" the cheerful male asked.

 

Lucas turned his head towards Jungwoo. "Do you mind?" Jungwoo smiled and shook his head. Lucas smiled back. "Thanks. We'll talk again soon," he told Jungwoo before jumping over the bleachers and running off to where Mark was.

 

Jungwoo watched as Lucas easily snatched the basketball from Mark. He sighed, knowing he just lost another chance to talk with Lucas. But he knew he can't be selfish, Lucas came here to study, not be tangled into Jungwoo's love story. Jungwoo crossed his legs, his elbow on his knees as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. Now they were back to square one and he still hated Physical Education class.

 

The male students were all at the court, getting ready to play basketball while the female students were all huddling together, cooing and squealing about how handsome the male students were. Jungwoo sighed again, staying still in his spot. He wasn't interested in sports anyways.

 

The game finally started after the teams were divided. Jungwoo was lucky enough they didn't need extra members; he much preferred to sit and watch. The game started with a blow of their teacher's whistle. Jungwoo only watched as they bounced and chased after the single orange ball. There were a few players from their school's basketball team Jungwoo knew of, their talent was exquisite no doubt about that. But he wasn't interested in them, he was more invested in Lucas, who seemed to know what he was doing.

 

Lucas always have the ball with him and his team member looked like they trust him enough to keep passing the ball to him. He bounced the ball, running towards the basket and he- Jungwoo gasped, Lucas aimed the ball and shoot it into the basket, scoring himself a three-pointer. Jungwoo knew Lucas was amazing but that had took him by surprise. Lucas grinned as his team members crowded him, cheering loudly.

 

He laughed, the sound resounding in their gymnasium. Lucas pushed his hair back, in which he caught gaze with Jungwoo. Lucas waved at him, smiling widely. Jungwoo waved back, heart fluttering.

 

 

\--

 

 

Jungwoo jumped in his seat when he heard the unmistaken rumbling of an upcoming storm. He blinked, rubbing the sleep away with his fists. He looked around, shelves and shelves of books neatly arranged. Jungwoo had planned to study Chinese in the school library but he must have dozed off while studying. Now the skies were grey and if he doesn't hurry soon, Jungwoo's going to end up caught in the storm.

 

Jungwoo scrambled up, grabbing his pens that were scattered all over the table. He quickly took his things and left the library, ducking his head at the librarian behind the desk. Must be nice to have a car. Jungwoo ran down the hallways but as soon as he reached the front door it was raining heavily. Jungwoo sighed. He glanced at his watch, it was getting late but it was impossible to arrive home without getting wet.

 

Jungwoo hugged his things closer to his chest so to not get wet. He looked up at the sky with a somber look. Jungwoo flinched when someone open up their umbrella beside him. He whipped his head to the side, surprised to see Lucas there.

 

Lucas turned his head to look at Jungwoo. "Oh hello!" he greeted. "Hello," Jungwoo greeted back, smiling slightly.

 

"You're not going home?" Lucas asked him, holding the umbrella above his head.

 

Jungwoo shook his head and pointed to the sky. "Raining,"

 

"Oh," Lucas gaped. "Want me to send you home?"

 

Jungwoo's eyes widen. He shook his head furiously. "No, no I don't want to trouble!" he said.

 

"No, no trouble. Let me,"

 

"You're too nice Lucas," Jungwoo said in Korean, sighing. Lucas looked at him, tilting his head to the side. His big eyes just made the whole scene adorable that Jungwoo cooed internally. "Of course, you wouldn't understand me." he chuckled. "If you don't mind, could you send me back home?"

 

Lucas' big doe eyes lit up. "Gladly!" Jungwoo giggled. He slide his bag off his shoulders, placing his things into the bag. Lucas stared at the books he was holding. "You're learning Chinese?" Lucas asked him.

 

Jungwoo raised his head in surprise as he zipped up his bag. "Um, yeah. I'm trying to learn actually." he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarassment.

 

"I can teach you!" Lucas said, excitedly. Jungwoo stared at him, awed by the look of sincerity and the wide grin plastered on Lucas' face. He stared at Lucas, maybe stared a bit too long because he tilted his head to the side. The same cute head tilt Lucas did when he was confused or wondering what was going on inside Jungwoo's mind.

 

"Jungwoo?" Lucas called out to him. 

 

_Wee woo! Wee woo! The love police had arrived with an emergency._ Kim Jungwoo, victim of Lucas' soft voice and bright smile, was officially dead. Ever felt so blessed? Kim Jungwoo did, because Lucas had called his name, in that beautiful, hoarse yet gentle voice of his. And Jungwoo thought he might not need anything else after that. Nope, not at all. Maybe Lucas as his boyfriend but other than that? Definitely unnecessary.

 

Lucas waved a hand in front Jungwoo, which definitely made the male snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh, yeah, um, let's go?" Jungwoo asked, a bit hesistant. But Lucas just smiled and - _ugh_ , how could one be so damn perfect?

 

Jungwoo inched closer to Lucas. The Chinese male hold the umbrella above their heads and they took a step forward, walking away from the school. Jungwoo was a tad bit annoyed that a small part of his shoulder was still getting wet because of the rain yet he couldn't be when he was this close to Lucas.

 

Out of nowhere, the droplets of rain on his shoulder magically disappear. But it was definitely raining. Jungwoo looked up, noticing that the umbrella was mostly above him. He glanced over Lucas, the male was wearing a black hoodie but it was clear that the hoodie was drenched from the rain.

 

"Hey!" Jungwoo shouted to get Lucas' attention in the heavy rain. Lucas turned to him. "You're getting wet." Jungwoo said, pointing at Lucas' shoulder.

 

The male spared a quick glance before turning his attention back to Jungwoo, shrugging his shoulders. "It's fine," Lucas said.

 

Jungwoo stopped in his track. "No! Not fine," He told Lucas and pushed the hand holding his umbrella to Lucas' side. Lucas frowned, clearly unhappy with this as he pushed the umbrella back. They continued with their game of pushing until Lucas sighed tiredly.

 

Lucas took out the hand he buried inside the pocket of his hoodie and wrapped his arm around Jungwoo's shoulder. He pulled Jungwoo closer, almost squeezing the male. Jungwoo's shoulder tensed.

 

"Here, that will be better." Lucas said, speaking directly against his ear.

 

Jungwoo's breath hitched. And no, no, no, no, an absolutely no this will not be better. Jungwoo's heart thumped loudly against his chest and he sure hoped Lucas won't feel the heat creeping up his neck. This was dangerous territory, not even the love police dared to venture into. But Lucas rubbed soothing circles on Jungwoo's shoulder and Jungwoo relaxed slightly.

 

With help from Jungwoo's instruction - thankful that his voice didn't wavered under Lucas' breath directly against his ear - they arrived in front of Jungwoo's doorstep. The rain had let up slightly, only little droplets pitter pattering against the sidewalk. Yet, Lucas still held the umbrella above Jungwoo's head, sheltering him even from the little raindrops.

 

"Thank you for sending me home," Jungwoo said while facing Lucas, heart wrenching at the sight.

 

"No problem. I wanted to." Lucas replied, in the most sincere voice Jungwoo had ever heard from anybody.

 

Jungwoo stared, hands fidgeting as he waited for the next move. For Lucas to say goodbye and leave Jungwoo to calm down his beating heart. Jungwoo wanted to say his goodbye but he didn't want the moment to end either. He wanted to stay, just stared at Lucas maybe, he didn't want this to end.

 

"About the offer," Jungwoo paused, wetting his lips. This was nerve-wrecking. "Are you still okay with teaching me Chinese?"

 

Lucas broke out into a grin. "Gladly," he said.

 

Lucas' smile was contagious because Jungwoo found himself smiling back, overflowing with joy. "Great! Is after school tomorrow okay?" he asked. Lucas nodded his head. They exchanged KakaoTalk ID and Jungwoo watched as Lucas walked away, waving goodbye to each other one last time.

 

Jungwoo thought he saw a rainbow. But the rainbow was clouded by the fuzzy feeling in his chest.

 

 

\--

 

 

"Someone's happy," Jaehyun commented as he sat down at their usual table during lunch break.

 

"I'm always happy?" Johnny answered. He tried to steal some of Jaehyun's fries but his hand was quickly swatted away by the younger.

 

"Not you," Jaehyun said, finally settling down. "That guy." Jaehyun jutted out his lips towards Jungwoo who was sitting opposite of him. Jungwoo had his chin on top of the palm of his hand, sighing dreamily as he stared at the table acrossed them.

 

"Earth to Jungwoo?" Doyoung called out to him, snapping his fingers in front of the male.

 

Jungwoo flinched. "Huh? What? Yes?" he mumbled, finally snapping out of it. Jungwoo turned to look at his friends and they all stared back at him.

 

"You've been staring at Lucas," Johnny pointed out.

 

"What? Oh no, I was just looking out for him." Jungwoo replied.

 

Doyoung rolled his eyes. "He's a grown man, Woo. Lucas doesn't need your looking out."

 

"I'm just getting ready for any danger. It's a wild world out there, you'll never know."

 

"We're in the cafeteria Woo, how dangerous can it be?" As soon as Jaehyun said this, a glob of food flew from the sky and landed right in the middle of their table. They let out an ugly shriek, flinching away from the mushy glob.

 

"Oh hey sorry! I lost my aim. You can have that if you want." Winwin, one of the other exchange students said with broken Korean as he passed through their table, running out of the cafeteria.

 

They stared at him wordlessly. Jungwoo turned back to them. "The cafeteria is not dangerous?" he said, pointing at the red, disguting, mushed glob. Jaehyun rolled his eyes at him. "That's only one and it's just some disgusting mashed food, it's harmless."

 

Something flew in front of them, surprising them. They turned to look at said flying object. The flying object - which was a fork really - stabbed through the apple Yuta, the one sitting at the table beside them was eating and fell dramatically on the floor. They stared at it. Jungwoo turned back to Jaehyun.

 

"Not dangerous?"

 

"Okay, fine, unexpectedly a very dangerous cafeteria." Jaehyun acknowledged.

 

"See, I'm being a very good friend." Jungwoo said, proudly. The others rolled their eyes at him, muttering a chorus of 'whatever'. The bell rung and everyone got up to enter their next classes. Jungwoo said goodbye to his three friends in front of the cafeteria before they took different directions to their classes.

 

Jungwoo walked down the hallways. He spotted Winwin - the one who accidentally missed his aim and threw a giant glob on their table - walking with someone. Winwin shared a few classes with Jungwoo and while he had never met the other exchange students minus Lucas, he thought that Winwin's Korean was admittedly very good. They conversed a few times before and to Jungwoo it was quite pleasant. Jungwoo pursed his lips. He would meet Lucas later on for their Chinese lesson after school and he didn't want to look like a fool in front of him. Maybe learning a phrase from Winwin would be good.

 

Jungwoo sped up, trying to catch Winwin. He pat the male's shoulder, grinning at him when Winwin turned around. "Hey Winwin, I need your help." Jungwoo said. Winwin looked at him for a minute longer, maybe trying to process the language. Winwin nodded his head. "Sure,"

 

"How do I say 'I like you' in Chinese?" Jungwoo asked.

 

Winwin was about to open his mouth when the boy beside him jumped to the front. Jungwoo recognized him as Chenle, another Chinese exchange student who loved hanging out with Jisung. He was younger than Jungwoo which explained why he had never personally seen the young boy. He smiled brightly at Jungwoo.

 

" _wo taoyàn ni_ , that's how you say it." Jungwoo's eyes widen at his Korean, albeit still having an accent to it, it was good.

 

" _wo taoyàn ni?_ Is that correct?" Jungwoo repeated.

 

Winwin grabbed at Chenle's sleeves. "Lele, why-" Chenle shot him down with a glare and Winwin shut his mouth.

 

" _wo taoyàn ni_." Chenle said, emphasising each word. "If you say this to someone, I will guarantee that the person would like you back." he told Jungwoo.

 

Jungwoo gasped. "Really?" he said excitedly. "Okay, _wo taoyàn ni_ , I think I got it. Thank you!" he repeated before he ran off. Winwin and Chenle watched as Jungwoo left them, muttering the phrase over and over again under his breath.

 

Winwin slapped Chenle's shoulder when Jungwoo was out of sight. Chenle whined, glaring at Winwin. "What?" he asked, annoyed.

 

"Why did you tell him that?" Winwin hissed at him, naturally switching back to his native language.

 

"What? It's fun." Chenle cackled, a mischievious glint in his eyes. Winwin sighed, shaking his head. "What if he went about and tell Lucas that? It will be embrassing." Winwin told the younger, worry evident in his voice. Chenle waved him off, walking ahead.

 

"Oh please, he's not that stupid, _ge_. I'm sure he would open up a dictionary before saying that to Lucas."

 

 

\--

 

 

Jungwoo smiled, wide and bright as he waited in front of the school gates for Lucas. His friends had already left him, looked at him with their concern gaze and left knowing there was nothing they could do to stop Jungwoo. Lucas had promised to meet him in front of the school gate and then they would both walked to a nearby café. Jungwoo was going to treat Lucas to coffee in exchange for the Chinese lesson and Jungwoo would be lying if he said he wasn't excited for this study session slash possible date.

 

"You ready?" Lucas' voice snapped him out of his trance. Jungwoo turned towards that voice and- was Lucas ever tired of putting up that 1000 watts smile? Probably not. Jungwoo wasn't tired of it either, he could stare at it for eternity.

 

With a curt nod from Jungwoo, they made their way out of the school. Lucas was a fun guy to be with, Jungwoo decided. They conversed in a natural flow, not even bothering with Jungwoo's broken English or his vague handsigns when he was unsure of the word he wanted to say. And the conversation went on as they settled down in the café, each of them ordering their coffee of choice.

 

Jungwoo took out his dictionary and notebook, ready to start their study session. Lucas was gentle, the way he talked to Jungwoo, the way he repeated the word when Jungwoo had pronounce it wrongly and the way their fingertips accidentally brushed against each other when Lucas reached for a pen. But it was good, everything was good. Jungwoo might have learned a few new phrases from Lucas and he was just a little bit more confident to converse with Lucas.

 

The time ticking was left unnoticed by them. It was hours later when Jungwoo finally realized that it was getting dark. "I think we should start packing," Jungwoo suggested. It took Lucas a quick glance outside the window before he nodded.

 

They started to pack their things before Lucas stood up from his seat though, Jungwoo held onto his forearm. "Um, I have something to say." Jungwoo said, flustered and blushing.

 

"Go on,"

 

" _wo taoyàn ni,_ " Jungwoo said, repeating the phrase Chenle told him earlier today. He watched as Lucas' eyes widen in surprise. "Did- did I say something wrong? But Chenle said that would work."

 

"Chenle?" Jungwoo nodded. Lucas shook his head. "You can't just trust that little prankster." he warned Jungwoo.

 

"What? What did that phrase meant?"

 

Lucas sighed. "It meant 'I dislike you',"

 

Jungwoo's eyes widen, the heat creeping faster and his face was flushed red. He pulled away the hand still holding onto Lucas' forearm and buried his face into the palm of his hands in embarassment. "Oh my gosh, I didn't mean it that way. I wanted to say something else- ugh now I'm just embarassing myself." Jungwoo mumbled aloud.

 

Lucas chuckled, finding the whole scene amusing. He pulled Jungwoo's hands away from his face. Jungwoo resisted at first but was defeated by a small peek of Lucas' smile.

 

"Here," Lucas said, taking Jungwoo's pen and notebook. He scribbled four Chinese characters neatly and wrote the romanized reading below it. He faced the book towards Jungwoo. "Read it."

 

Jungwoo's eyebrows furrowed, trying hard to read out the Chinese characters, even if he was reading the romanized version. " _wo x-xi huān ni_?" Jungwoo muttered out, looking up at Lucas for confirmation.

 

The Chinese male nodded his head. " _wo ye xi huān ni,_ " Jungwoo tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

 

Lucas smiled. He pointed at himself then he draw a heart against the notebook. Jungwoo stared at him, stunned, before lastly Lucas pointed at Jungwoo. "I like you," Lucas said to him in Korean, no accent or broken phrases, just sincerity in his voice.

 

 

\--

 

 

"Ugh class is starting. Well, I'll see you later Lucas! _Xièxie_ again!" he told the male and ran off to his friends.

 

Lucas stared at him, smiling amusedly. Someone tapped on Lucas' shoulders and he turned to look at his friend, Kun. "Does he know you could speak Korean?" Kun asked in Chinese. Lucas' smile only widened as he watched Jungwoo animatedly talked with his group of friends, oblivious to everything and everyone around him.

 

Lucas shrugged his shoulder, "Probably not." He replied. "But he's cute,"

 


End file.
